"I understand how big this is," Sam told ESPN. "It's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be ... I want to be a football player in the NFL."

Sam is preparing for the NFL Combine. There, the 6-2, 255-pound end will be scrutinized for what he brings on the field — and closely examined for the ground-shifting dynamic he brings to the NFL locker room. But there's no denying the talent Sam brings to the gridiron.

"I knew from a young age that I was attracted to guys," he said, "I didn't know if it was a phase ... I didn't want to say, 'Hey, I might be gay. I might be bi.' I just didn't know ... I wanted to find who I was and make sure I knew what was comfortable. So I didn't tell anyone growing up.

"I endured so much in my past: seeing my older brother killed from a gunshot wound, not knowing that my oldest sister died when she was a baby and I never got the chance to meet her. My second oldest brother went missing in 1998, and me and my little sister were the last ones to see him ... my other two brothers have been in and out of jail since 8th grade, currently both in jail.

"Telling the world I'm gay is nothing compared to that."

He told his college teammates during a team building exercise, Outsports.com reports, when a coach told players: "Tell us something we don't know about you." Some players already knew, but others were shocked. Not one player whispered a word to the media.

"Looking back, I take great pride in how Michael and everyone in our program handled his situation," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said a statement released Sunday night. "This past August, Michael was very direct with the team when he decided to let everyone know that he is gay. We discussed how to deal with that from a public standpoint, and ultimately Michael decided that he didn’t want that to be the focal point of the season.

"He wanted to focus on football and not do anything to add pressure for him or for his teammates, and I think that’s a great example of the kind of person he is. We left it that whenever he felt the time was right, however he wanted to make the announcement, that we had his back and we’d be right there with him."

Optimum Scouting's Eric Galko thinks Sam, who led the SEC with 11.5 sacks, and 19 tackles for a loss last season, will be selected on day three of May's draft.

"Michael Sam was a leader on one of college football's best defenses this past season," Galko said. "Productive off the edge, Sam displayed the pad level and quickness initially to warrant NFL consideration. However, his lack of rush move development and struggles during Senior Bowl practices likely pushed him to day three of the draft.

"While his announcement isn't a surprise to most teams, the impact of Sunday's news on draft boards will vary from team to team. Although it shouldn't be a major concern in today's day and age. Teams without a strong coach, a good locker room culture or a tolerant ownership and fan base may alter how high he is listed — if it at all — on their board."

The 24-year-old doesn't care which team selects him, as long as that team accepts and supports him.

"Hopefully it will be the same like my locker room," he said. "It's a workplace. if you've ever been in a Division I or pro locker room, it's a business place. You want to act professional."

The NFL is officially in a position of support. "We admire Michael Sam's honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL," the league said in a statement.

At the end of the 2012-2013 regular season, NBA veteran Jason Collins revealed to Sports Illustrated that he is gay. Already nearing the end of his career, Collins hasn't played since. Soccer player Robbie Rogers played in an MLS game in 2013 as the first openly gay male athlete to participate in a U.S. professional team sports league.

There have been countless gay athletes before Sam, but there's no denying that he's taking a leap of faith into a culture that he hopes will embrace him.

"There will be negativity, negative reactions," he told Outside the Lines. "I expect that. ... Everyone can say hurtful things and hateful things; I don't let stuff like that distract me. But there are going to be positives. The positives will outweigh the negative."

Just last week, New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma suggested on NFL Network that the league isn't quite ready.

“I think he would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted,” Vilma said of a gay player.

In 2012, former NFL defensive back Wade Davis came out as gay. He'd spent four training camps with NFL teams and two seasons in NFL Europe in the early 2000s.

“People make this broad assumption that the NFL is just this completely homophobic place, and it’s not," Davis told Sporting News last month. "It’s an and-both. We look at it as an either-or — it either is, or it isn’t. The same dynamic that’s in an NFL organization, takes place in an LGBT organization … The truth is, it is, it always has been, and it always will be a place where people come together and work together from different backgrounds.’’

Sam's parents haven't known the truth about their son's sexual orientation much longer than the rest of the world. The defensive end came out to his mother and father last week.

"I told my mom and dad last week, and they just pretty much said, 'We knew and we love you and support you,' " he said. "I'm their baby boy. I'm the first to go to college. I'm the first to graduate college. Something like this is just another milestone."

A milestone it is. Sam's life changed in a matter of seconds Sunday, and he seems ready to face the challenges that may present themselves in the future.

"I'm not afraid to tell the world who I am. I'm Michael Sam: I'm a college graduate. I'm African American, and I'm gay," he said. "I'm comfortable in my skin."